Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 8/11/2020 6:05 PM, jbeattie wrote:

I certainly pulled up or across the pedal when track racing, and if I
pulled out, it could be catastrophic -- and thus double straps and later
clipless (some racers used clipless and straps). Foot retention is
important when sprinting and climbing out of the saddle.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full...0.2020.1769201

It's a shame they didn't test stiff soled cycling shoes with toe clips.
For a long time those were the default choice for avid cyclists. They're
still my choice for long rides.

But I'll point out, that paper (apparently) did not measure efficiency.
The power improvements were huge (9.7 ± 8.7% power gain by adding toe
clips to soft shoes, and 16.6 ± 10.2% gain with rigid shoes and
clipless). On a five percent grade, that corresponds to a very
noticeable increase in speed. If those gains were due to lack of
efficiency of soft soles, those soles must have been soaking up a hell
of a lot of power. That means they should get very hot.

We can discuss this, but I suspect a lot of the gains measured were due
to the "red bikes are faster" effect. Testers were probably
preconditioned to think toe clips help a lot, and REAL cycling shoes and
clipless are what professionals use. That's a recipe for a powerful placebo.

If not that, then what made the power difference? Where would the power
have been previously lost? We should be able to talk about that in detail.

And shoes can make a big difference. I remember going from Detto,
Vittoria or Italia (they all blended together) bicycling/bowling shoes
of yore with little steel stiffeners and nail on cleats to Duegis with
wood soles and bolt-on plastic cleats.
https://www.classicsteelbikes.com/wp...-1-600x400.jpg
That was huge -- like going from Michelin 50s to Vittoria CGs (I never
rode silks). That was probably the single biggest component improvement I ever had.

Again, we should be able to analyze the exact source of the improvement.
The shoes are not a source of power; they are a simple device for
transmitting power from your foot to the pedal.

I don't doubt that some changes allow better biomechanics and thus
better power output. But it's hard for me to see how shoes do that.


Hey Frank. Let me take a couple of guesses why track riders can put out
more power with better shoes.

1) If you are not connected to the pedal in some way, you need to keep a
minimum force on the pedal during the upstroke just to ensure enough
friction that your door doesn’t slide off. If your shoe is clamped to the
pedal (toe clips, power straps, clipless pedals), then you can apply zero
or negative force to the pedal on the upstroke, with a commensurate
increase in torque. Your efficiency may not increase, but without clamping
your shoe to the pedal you cannot apply a force approaching or exceeding
your body weight to the pedal.

2) If your shoe has a very soft sole, part of the force that you are
applying to the pedal is also going to deform your foot. A stiff shoe may
allow the large muscles in your legs to apply full force to the pedal
without forcing the little muscles in your foot to tire themselves out
trying to keep your foot from collapsing.